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13 December, 2008

Sense-objects a Trap: Man Bound.

Adi Sankara, author, is very appropriately reminded of the various examples provided by nature where certain species meet their death due to extreme attachment to one or the other of the five senses in the following Verse:

The deer, the elephant, the moth, the fishAnd the honey-bee—these five are annihilatedbecause of their salvery to one or the other of thesenses such as sound etc., through their ownattachment. What then is the condition of a manwho is attached to all these five?

- Verse 76: Vivekachoodamani.

COMMENTARY

The deer is always fascinated by melodious sound and the deer hunter signs to charm the deer. Attracted by the melody of sound, the deer has no awareness of the danger it is in, and turns in the direction of the music; the hunter soon makes it his target. The elephants, especially in the matting season, become extremely attached to the sense of touch; rubbing against each other and walking without caution, they fall into the pits got ready to catch them. The moth is enchanted by form and attracted by the brilliance of the flame. It flutters towards it with an agonizing impatience and gets burnt. The fish, ravenously hungry at all times, in its gluttony, swallows the bait, is caught and thus meets its end in the stomach of fish-eaters. The poor honey-bee, attracted by the fragrant smell of flowers, pursues its industrious vocation, collects honey from the flowers and hoards it in its hive, until at last, heartless man set fire to the hive in order to loot the honey-wealth of the bee.

Thus, the author gives us five typical examples wherein each has met its doom because of its attachment to one or the other of the five senses. Most dramatic it becomes when the author concludes with the exclamation, “What then is in store for man who is attached to all these five?”

When a man of ignorance, having neither discrimination nor detachment, vulgarly runs after sense-objects for his temporary nerve-ticklings, he becomes a sad victim of his delusion, and meets a calamitous end for he has allowed himself to be bound by the five strong ropes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Reverentially called Bhagavatpada Acharya (The teacher at the feet of Lord) and Adi Sankara (roughly "the first Sankara"), Sankara (approximately 788-820 CE) was the most famous Advaita philosopher who had a profound influence on the growth of Hinduism through his non-dualistic philosophy. He advocated the greatness and importance of the important Hindu scripture known as the Vedas (most particularly on the Upanishads, also known as Vedanta)and gave new life to Hinduism when it was suffering due to the increasing influence of Buddhism. He was born in Kaladi, a small village in Kerala, India. His teachers include Gaudapada and Govinda. Reverentially called Bhagavatpada Acharya (The teacher at the feet of Lord) and Adi Sankara (roughly "the first Sankara"), Sankara (approximately 788-820 CE) was the most famous Advaita philosopher who had a profound influence on the growth of Hinduism through his non-dualistic philosophy. He advocated the greatness and importance of the important Hindu scripture known as the Vedas (most particularly on the Upanishads, also known as Vedanta)and gave new life to Hinduism when it was suffering due to the increasing influence of Buddhism. He was born in Kaladi, a small village in Kerala, India. His teachers include Gaudapada and Govinda.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Source:Excerpt from the Talks on Sankara’s Vivekachoodamani by Swami Chinmayananda.